Present, Past and
by CrazyManiacalGurl
Summary: Logan meets someone new, finds more about his past, there's lots of Scott bashing (i Hate him!!) and a lot of Jubilee hyperactivity. Ok, Ok, I'm v. bad at summaries, but what's a gal to do?
1. Default Chapter

Right, let's make this brief. This is my very first fanfic about anything, and it probably sucks, but please have mercy on me!!! I just wanna say that I love X-men, I've seen all the cartoons and movies but amazingly I've only read one issue of the comic books, 'cos the stupid people in the newsagent don't sell them where I live and it's too expensive to get a subscription from abroad (. Anyway. Disclaimer- the X-men do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel comics and were created by Stan Lee to whom I pay homage. I just like submitting them to my evil will! Hehehehe. I don't make any profit from this garbage. (The fic I mean but I guess u already knew that.) Feedback- pleeeeeeese!!! Either submit a review or e-mail me at gothicvampess@hotmail.com.  
***********  
  
LOGAN  
  
The trees swayed wildly in the wind, whose howl was mingled with those of the wild wolves in the distance. The snow swirled around like a mad thing and encircled the forest blowing up many branches and dead twigs into the sky which glowed blackly in the background, merging with the threatening clouds looming up ahead.  
The girl stood up on a high cliff, the wind screaming at her mercilessly and slapping her long white hair about her face, despite the wide headband she wore in an effort to keep it secure. In vain it tried to push her off (the wind, not her hair) pulling and dragging at her this way and that, but to no avail. She lifted her binoculars to her eyes, peering into the distance. Not far now, she thought in relief. She shoved her binoculars back into her rucksack and stepped down from the cliff, glaring contemptuously at the wind. Then she sighed and pulled off her black tank top, exposing a light cotton vest she was wearing underneath.  
"Good grief, it's hot," she said aloud.  
  
*********************** Much further away from here, in New York, the X-men were trying in ineffectually to cope with the death of a certain Jean Gray. The weather around the mansion did not differ much from the weather described above, as Ororo Monroe, a.k.a. Storm, was not dealing well with the death of Jean at all. Therefore the many students and teachers in Xavier's School for the Gifted found themselves grabbing their thickest and warmest clothes they could find, although winter had only just begun. Scott was a complete wreck, of course. Ever since they had arrived back from "the Incident at Alkali Lake" he had become silent and withdrawn, and would only venture out of his room for meals, and sometimes, not at all. He had totally given up on teaching, being barely able to concentrate, and so Storm and the Professor had had to substitute for him in his English Lit classes (A/N: don't actually know what Scott teaches but I do know that Lit's a horrible subject, Scott's a horrible guy, so I thought maybe…) Logan's emotions were hard to figure out, except maybe for the Professor. A casual observer might remark that he seemed unaffected by what had happened, and that he really couldn't care less. An extraordinary observer, however, would notice the frequent swallowing of the throat, the furious blinking of the eyes and the frustrated movements of his hands as he ran them through his already unkempt hair. Rogue and Bobby were shocked and sad, although they couldn't help feeling more over Pyro's recent betrayal. They couldn't believe that one of their best friends had actually left them to be with Magneto. Dazed and bewildered, they clung together during lessons and social gatherings, being the only two students that had been present when Jean had died.  
Charles Xavier knew all this, and he was determined to do something about it. He knew that life had to go on. He was sorry that Jean had died, of course, but was that any reason not to appreciate a fried egg on toast? No, it was not. So he decided to send each X-man off on a sort of mission, to help them 'forget'. First off, he started with Logan. Sitting down in his study one day, he reached out telepathically to find the grumpy Canadian emerging from his room fresh from a whole morning's sleep. *^* What, Chuck? *^* came the irritable response. *^* I am sorry if I have awakened you from your slumber, but I have news that will surely interest you. Please come to see me in my study immediately. *^* *^* Yeah, lemme get some breakfast… *^* *^* Now, Logan! *^* Grumbling to himself, the Wolverine made his way to the Professor's office, after pulling on an old gray sweater. (A/N: I'm gonna leave him with his boxers on… no trousers… Mmm…c'mon, he's depressed, he doesn't have any time to stay dressing up, right???) "What's up?" he said roughly upon entering the study. He pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards. (A/N: the chair's backwards, K? not Logan). "I know that a few weeks ago I had sent you to Alkali Lake, in search of your past, and that it had not ended on a happy note. You did not manage to find out anything significant, except for William Stryker, and then, Jean Gray died." "Thanks for stating the obvious," mumbled Logan, swallowing hard. He found it hard to believe how calmly the Professor had been taking the incident. Maybe it's a brain thing, he thought. I dunno. "I have been searching around with Cerebro recently, and I have discovered that there is a hidden medical lab, not far from where the military camp used to be before the dam exploded. The nation's leading scientists once used it for experiments. I also believe that those experiments were probably carried out on mutants, like you." Logan looked up from where he was sitting, suddenly interested despite himself. Then he shook himself mentally. No! He thought. It's because of my stupid past that everyone went to that camp, and that Jeannie died. I won't. Not again. "Yes, you will," said Prof. X. seriously. Logan jumped- he kept forgetting that Prof. X was telepathic. "Every man needs to know about his past, Logan." He continued," It's not your fault that all this happened, and that Jean died. We would have got involved with it in any case, believe me. Now, I am going to give you the co-ordinates, and you may leave this afternoon or tomorrow morning. You may- ahem- borrow Scott's motorbike again, if you like." Logan got up, and he took the co-ordinates from the Prof.'s hands silently. What the hell, he thought suddenly, I'll give it a shot. Better than being cooped up all the time in here. "Yes, it is." Prof. X agreed. He growled, and turned to leave. "Oh, Logan. Something I forgot to tell you." Logan grit his teeth, and turned round. "Yeah?" "You will probably meet someone else on the way to the lab. She's a mutant, and I think she's also in search of her past. I couldn't determine her name or her abilities though, because she seemed to be aware of my psychic presence, and blocked, using a shield. So maybe she is telepathic, but I cannot be sure. You might want to join her on her journey if you like. The living over there is quite tough. You will need help." Logan stared at the Prof., then shrugged. "Sure, whatever."  
After he had gone the Prof. smiled. One down, four to go, he thought.  
************** Logan went to his room, grabbed a few things, and stuffed them into a bag. If he had to go on this trip thingy the sooner he would leave, the better. He headed to the kitchen to get some food for the journey ahead. "Wolvie?" a tentative voice called him by his dreaded nickname. Only one person would dare call him by that name. "Uh… hi Jubilee," said Logan, lifting his head slightly from the fridge. Jubilation Lee took a deep breath and jumped on Logan's back, making him wince. "OhWolviewloviewhereareyougoingtakemewithyouiamsoboredihaveexamstomorrowidon otwant tostudy," said the giddy teenager breathlessly. Uh-oh. Jubilee was on a sugar rush. With his super sense of smell Logan thought he could detect faint traces of candy and chocolate on her breath. Lowering her back down to the floor slowly and carefully, he said," Kid, I can't take you with me"- Jubilee pouted- "but, if you promise that you'll keep quiet and stay in your room for the rest of the day and go hyper on your own, here's a whole three packets of Oreo's for you to eat all by yourself. In your room!" he called after her as she went zooming out of the kitchen with the sweets in her hands, giggling and gibbering excitedly.  
Logan shook his head and walked out of the kitchen, feeling sorry for the next person to run into Jubilee. As he made his way to the front door he heard someone else call him, in quite a different tone to what Jubilee's had been. "Logan? Logan, where are you going?" It was Marie, looking anxious as she saw the stuffed backpack on Logan's shoulder. "The Professor's sent me on some kinda mission thingy to find my past and stuff," replied Logan absently opening the front door. "But I thought you already did? You know, with the lab and William Stryker and all that…" "Yeah, well, Chuck reckons he's onto something new." And with that he shut the door, mounted the motorcycle and zoomed off. 


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here goes Chapter 2. Sorry about the confusion before but my computer apparently hates my guts, I`m not even sure if it`s working properly now. The weird symbols on the previous chapter all stand for inverted commas. So if you have the patience all you have to do is copy and paste to Microsoft Word, if you want to read it. FEEDBACK PLEASE!! Reviews, e-mails and whatever are all more than welcome. Even more welcome than Hugh Jackman in a towel. well maybe not. hehehehe. I don`t own any of the Marvel characters, blahblahblah, you all know the drill. Caitlin Moore is my character so please don`t use her without my permission. Just read the little note on Chapter one. If you can. Btw, thank you Burnout!! You were my first reviewer =) There should be prizes for people like you. You really encouraged me. Thanks again for your honesty.  
  
On with the story..  
  
**** CHAPTER TWO  
  
SCOTT  
  
Scott walked towards the Professor`s office slowly, having received his psychic message to visit him immediately. All around him he could hear the low voices of different teachers and students coming from various classrooms. Coming from the classroom that used to be taught by Jean was the voice of Storm, speaking in the strange language of Biology. It didn`t used to be so strange, when being taught by Jean, he remembered. Things always had a new, simpler meaning, when Jean explained them. A sharp collision with an overhyperactive Jubilee quickly interrupted his current musings. ``Waaaaaabbbooommm!!`` screeched the excitable teenager as she knocked the wind out of Scott. ``Whoooopsie, Mr Cyclops, didn`t see you there, didn`t see you there, didn`t see you there.`` ``Jube.lee.. candy. banned..two years. give. Oreo`s. me.`` Jubilee clasped her precious sweets to her chest, shrieked ``You`ll never take them alive!`` and raced off. Scott wheezed, straightened up and eventually made his way to the office. ``Ah, Scott,`` said Prof. Xavier as he entered. ``Please have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.`` Scott sat down on a squashy armchair and listened listlessly as the Prof. went on and on about some mission he was about to embark on. What did it matter anyway? The busier he was, the less time he had to think about Jean. Apparently he now had to go rescue some kid who was being abused by her mother because she was a mutant. Not the first time this had happened..  
  
*** BOBBY  
  
``Are you OK?`` asked Bobby Drake to Marie, concern clearly discernible in his voice. Marie looked extremely upset and worried. The Iceman frowned. The only time he had ever seen her like this was when Logan had left the mansion to go to Alkali Lake. Well, she wasn`t exactly being Little Miss Ray Of Sunshine And Happiness lately, and neither him, but today she looked even more dismal than she had been looking these past few weeks. A suspicion began to form in the back of his mind. ``Logan. Logan. hasn't left again, has he?" he asked hesitantly. ``Yes,`` she muttered. She didn`t really feel like talking to Bobby about this right now. She knew what was coming next. ``I - I can`t stand seeing you like this!`` he expostulated. ``Every time he leaves. it`s like your whole life has no more meaning any more. Sometimes I think that you forget that I`ll always be here for you, no matter what. You`re always thinking about that guy. You have feelings for him, I know you do! Don`t you? Don`t ---`` ``No! Why do you keep asking this all the time? I`m so sick of it!`` Marie sobbed. ``Don`t you know how bad I`ve been feeling these past few days? I thought you at least would understand. And now you have to bring this up! Well, I`ve had it! That`s it! One more argument like this, Bobby Drake, and we`re through!`` And with that she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, crying her heart out. Bobby stood glaring after her. ``Oreo, Bobby?`` chirped a voice from behind him. ``Fuck off, Jubilee!`` ``There`s no need to be friendly, I was only trying to be rude!`` said Jubilee, shocked. Greeeaaat. Jubilee on a sugar high. Just what he needed. Actually. ``Jubilee? Er. Sorry about that. Listen, you`re Rogue`s best friend, right?`` ``I try my best!`` ``And you`re kinda close to Logan, right?`` ``I definitely try my best there!`` ``Well, can you just carry a message to her from me? Just tell her this.``  
  
**** LOGAN  
  
Logan slowly came to a halt in a parking lot right next to a worn out looking diner. In the distance he could see tall, threatening moutains looming up ahead, and if he looked really hard he could even make out a narrow, winding trail. Well, he was quite tired out, and even super healing regenerative mutants with animal instincts needed a break now and then. He entered the diner, beer and a hot square meal on his mind.  
It was actually quite empty. Only a few people were sitting around talking and eating. They looked quite respectable, a sight that Logan was not used to seeing when he walked into such places. However there appeared to be nobody present to run the diner, only a pretty black girl with dark glasses sitting near the counter. Logan sat near her, and after a quite a while he became annoyed. ``Hey ,isn`t there anyone here to, y'know, take care of customers?`` he asked the girl quite irritably.  
She jumped. ``Oh! I`m sorry. I didn`t know you were here! You should have told me. I `ll take your orders right away. er. sir?``  
Logan was nonplussed. `` First off, if I`ve been sitting next to you all this time, how could you not know I was here? Secondly, If you`re in charge of this place, you should be behind the counter, not in front of it. Thirdly, I am a sir. Why the hell did you ask that?``  
``Around here, you can never be sure,`` said the girl darkly. ``And to answer your first two questions, well the owner is away, and I'm in charge for a bit. And the reason I didn`t see you, and can probably never see you or anyone ever again, is because I'm blind.`` She waved a long white walking stick around aimlessly. Logan had the decency to look abashed, and since in this case it was not sufficient, he mumbled ``sorry``.  
``That`s OK,`` said the girl cheerfully. ``Well, what can I get you? I`m Terri, by the way,`` she added. ``Who are you?`` ``I`ll just have a beer.`` If you know what it actually looks like, he added mentally. He decided to skip the meal, naturally suspicious of a blind person's ability to cook. ``I don't know what what a beer looks like, but I sure know how to serve one,`` said Terri calmly as she took one out of a cupboard close to her and plunked it in front of him.  
Logan blinked. ``Huh?`` ``It`s Ok,`` said Terri. ``I know what you are. I`m one as well. A mutant. They all are, in fact,`` she said, gesturing vaguely towards the occupants of the diner. ``That`s what this place is meant for, a place where mutants can take it easy without cops breathing over our necks all the time.``  
``So. I take it you`re telepathic, right?`` said Logan slowly. ```Sure. It comes in handy, too. But I haven`t really learnt how to control it yet. If I did, I would`ve realised you were here ages ago,`` she remarked sadly. ``You must know a telepath, judging by your reaction.`` Logan winced. ``Used to know one.`` Jean, he thought sadly. The professor didn`t count. He was too annoying. ``Ah.`` Terri realised she had hit a raw spot, and quicly changed the subject. ``Hey, you haven`t told me your name yet.`` He sighed. `` Logan,`` he said, ``It`s Logan.`` He took a quick swig of the beer, and immediately spat it out. ``Hey, this is disgusting!`` ``Yes, I know,`` said Terri apologetically. ``Caitlin`s never been especially good at the catering business, even though she`s got a Masters in Chemistry and Biology.`` ``Who the hell is Caitlin?`` ``She`s the owner, but she`s away right now,`` explained Terri. ``She left yesterday. Said she wouldn`t be back for about a week.`` ``Where did she go?`` Terri gave him a mysterious look. `` Not gonna tell you. It`s secret, it is.`` Logan said nothing. A suspicion began to form in his mind as to who this Caitlin was, but he didn`t choose to voice it. After buying a bottle of water- nobody could get water wrong, surely- he said goodbye to Terri, gunned his motor bike and continued on his journey.  
  
******  
  
END OF CHAPTER TWO!!  
  
Ok.. Phew. *slumps forward and bangs her head on the keyboard, and doesn`t regain consciousness for a long, long, time.* That's Chapter 2 done! Sorry I didn`t really answer many of your questions and I probably didn`t make this story any clearer, but Chapter 3 will be better, I promise. You`ll get to meet Caitlin and. most importantly. the PLOT!!! Lol. Terri is MY character by the way, no permisson, no use. Anyway, until next time, then. Don`t forget to review, Ok??? 


	3. Chapter 3

``I`ll be back,`` I said. and I`m back!! Naah, actually that was Arnold Shwarzenagger in `Terminator`, as I`m sure you all know. But with all this Terminator hype going on at the moment who cares who`s saying it?  
  
Anyway, I`m going off the point here, as usual. I`m finally updating. Sorry it took so long but I`ve been busy studying and other crappy stuff. And hey, it`s summer. D`oh!  
  
To all my reviewers (all 5 of them!!) thank you!! You are my energy source and food supply. I live on those reviews, so keep `em coming.  
  
To whoever of you asked, yes, Marie IS Rogue. How could you not know that??? (Joking) =)  
  
Thanks for the suggestion WildWolvie, but my computer`s going through a spastic phase here and it`s backbreaking work getting it to switch on and connect to the Internet, let alone save in html. As soon as I get it fixed I`ll try it though. So please bear with me! (and my poor computer of course).  
  
I know.. let`s actually start reading the story!!!  
  
CHAPTER 3  
  
Caitlin watched the snow falling disconsolately as she sat inside a cave. She was sitting with her legs crossed beneath her, looking utterly bored and wishing for the umpteenth time that she had not come. She yawned, and then groaned, realising she hadn`t slept in ages. Caitlin was a very light sleeper and even though she had no plans to sleep during the nighttime, sleeping during the daytime was even harder because for her light was an instant stimulant.  
  
She yawned again, and wondered whether Terri was managing to take care of the diner. She left the latter in charge with a very easy conscience since most of the customers were used to the blind mutant, but you never knew when the random stranger would come wondering by.  
  
The snow continued falling.  
  
********  
  
Logan stopped the motorbike abruptly as the long and winding trail ended grimly right in front of a steep mountain path. Rubbing his sore neck he slid off the vehicle in relief. The long back-numbing hours on the road had been exhausting and once again he thanked whatever God there was for his healing factor. Pulling his bag down from the back he straightened up, and since he was a man who didn`t believe in prolonging things for the sake of dramatic effects, he got going straight away, slipping and sliding on the harsh and slippery road of the mountains.  
  
****** Caitlin blinked and opened up her eyes in surprise. So she had managed to fall asleep. The relentless falling of the snow had probably persuaded her eyes and brain to shut down out of their own accord. She glanced at her watch, which was miraculously still working, and swore in distress and anger. She had been asleep for almost a whole day!  
  
She peered out of the cave and swore again. The snow had piled up during all this time and it was a wonder she had even managed to see. She concluded that the mountain of snow was so high that she would have to tunnel her way through. Seeing that there was no time to waste she immediately began to shovel slushy and mucky snow out of the way with her powerful arms. She began to sweat as she worked, and cursed her mutant power for the millionth time that day. Even in below zero temperatures her body always remained as if she was permanently situated in the middle of Hawaii.  
  
Eventually she managed to climb her way out of her predicament and was soon once again trudging along normally. Her boots made steady, reassuring, crunching sounds as she trekked across the wide white landscape. It was freezing but she didn`t feel it at all. She supposed she was lucky in a way, but the deodorants were a hell of an expense and nowadays it was in no way safe to walk around places like New York in the middle of winter wearing just a tank top and a pair of shorts. People became more and more prejudiced every day, and Caitlin knew that it was only a matter of time before the Mutant Registration Act was legalised. What was the latest thing that had been on the news?. Ah, yes. the mutant that they had captured from Ellis Island had escaped. supposedly on the rampage. Well, with mutants like that it was no wonder that others were having such a hard time, she thought, her musings becoming increasingly bitter with every passing rumination. As she pondered she reached for her dogtag; she often fingered it during her thoughtful fits. Her fingers however gripped empty space. Her dogtag wasn`t there. Her heart stopped.  
  
Caitlin had had that dogtag ever since she could remember, which incidentally was only about fifteen years ago. Mr. And Mrs. Beckett, her ``foster parents`` had found her lying unconscious outside an old army camp near Alkali Lake. Amazed at not finding her frozen alive they had taken her, nursed her back to health, which took a couple of hours, and took her under their wing until she found herself on her own two feet again. She found out, to her own distress, that she was an amnesiac, and that it would be highly unlikely that she would remember anything about her past ever again. With no knowledge of how and why she discovered that she was an expert on anything to do with Physics, Chemistry and Biology, thus enabling her to seek out a profession as a doctor. Howvever the prejudiced world outside shunned and disgusted her, and instead she decided to look after the diner after Mr. Beckett died. The latter had been running this particular diner for over 30 years and people who lived in this tiny settlement, especially mutants, were fond of going there for a quiet rendez- vous or a rowdy night out. It had been left to Caitlin, and she continued keeping it with the same style as that of her predecessor, much to the satisfaction of frequent customers. But in her heart there always lay a tiny regret, a feeling that out there, somewhere, was a place where she could do more, and make a difference.  
  
The dogtag was the only link she had ever had connecting her to her past. Mrs. Beckett said that she had been clutching it so tightly when they had found her that when opnened, her hand had started to bleed. It was small, and made out of metal.(the dogtag, not her hand) On one side there was printed a series of numbers, and on the other the name ``Silver Fox``. Cailtlin supposed that this had once been her name, or some sort of codename. However she didn`t like it at all. It was too sentimental, she thought. So she asked Mrs. Beckett to think up a new name for her, and the latter, who had had a miscarriage in her younger days, named her Caitlin Moore, after the lost baby. Caitlin, touched by this gesture, took to the name immediately.  
  
And now the dogtag was lost. Swearing under her breath, she turned back and began kicking snow aside, searcing this way and that, but without any real hope of finding it. In desperation she dropped on her hands and knees and crawled about, throwing snow everywhere.  
  
``Lookin` for this?`` A gruff voice suddenly erupted into the still silence.  
  
Caitlin looked up in alarm. A tall man was standing right in front of her. He was fierce-looking, with an extemely bad beard and a cigar in his mouth. However the only thing that interested her about him was his hand, in which was held her dogtag.  
  
``Give it to me!`` She lunged for it but he jerked his hand back just in time. But Caitlin was ready for that. She whipped round again in an eye- watering split second and snatched it from his hand.  
  
``You stole it!``  
  
``Actually I found it, back there in that cave,`` the man shot back. He sounded very irritable. ``You should be thankin` me, as a matter of fact.`` He seemed very interested in the dogtag, Caitlin noticed. His eyes never left it. So she asked him why.  
  
``Why didn`t you want to give it back then?`` Her accent was British, with a hint of Irishness about it.  
  
``Because,`` said the man, ``I used to have one like it.``  
  
***** ``And zat,`` said Kurt Wagner, ``is vhy ve must forgif our enemies, just as Jesus did, so ve may be able to forget our grudges, and not brood over zem, so ve may vork for ze greater glory of Gott. That is all for today. I vill see you all next veek.`` The members of the bible group began to leave, including Scott, who walked a little behind the others with his head down. Kurt hopped down fron the filing cabinet where he had been sitting and went after him.  
  
``If you need to talk,`` said the blue mutant gently, ``zere are people here who are more zan willing to listen.`` Scott merely nodded, muttered, ``Thanks,`` and then left the room, brushing slightly against Storm who had just entered. She looked after him in dismay.  
  
``Isn`t it working?`` she asked Kurt anxiously, meaning the bible group. He shook his head. ``Sometimes,`` he said, ``I zsink I see a faint glimmer of hope. it shines across his face, as dim as ze earliest ray of sun zat shines in ze morning. but leaves just as qvickly. are you feeling all right zese days?``  
  
The question came as unexpected as a blow in the face. Storm started, and then said, laughing slightly,  
  
``You know, out of all people, I am the least able to hide her feelings. Look outside.``  
  
Kurt did accordingly, and saw the stormy weather rage and hurl against the windows. ``Oh.. I see. I am sorry. I did not know.``  
  
Storm cut in. ``It`s OK. Listen, would you like to come down with me to the cafeteria for a coffee? I have about three free lessons, and a lot of free time. And I really do need to speak to someone.``  
  
Kurt agreed to come with her--- a coffee with Storm was for him an offer too irresistable to refuse.  
  
******** Magneto prowled around his room. It had already been a few weeks since he had returned to his secret hideout, and he was already formulating a plan to rid himself of his former friend and work companion, Charles Xavier. He had realised that to succeed his Master Plan- destroy all humans-- Xavier was the only obstacle standing in his way. But he had overlooked that last time, and it was not going to happen again. He realised that if he was going to attack his precious school, it should take place in no more than a few months. The school's defences were probably all low since Stryker's attack, and it would be an ideal time to strike.  
  
He decided to activate Stage 1 in his plan right now.  
  
``Boy! Come here!``  
  
A few minutes passed, then John, a.k.a. Pyro, walked in, with a rebellious look on his face.  
  
``I have a name, you know,`` he glowered, `` it is John, or if you prefer, Pyro. Not `Boy`.``  
  
``My apologies. B- Pyro, I need you to do something for me.`` Magneto quickly went through Stage 1.  
  
``This shouldn`t be difficult for you to do. But I`d like you to take these pills while you`re there. It should keep him out of your more. private. memories. Now, do you accept this mission?``  
  
Pyro hesitated. Part of him was screaming ``No! Run! Just turn and run!`` However, the other, and stronger part of him was saying calmly, ``This was your choice, no? You chose to come here, to follow the guy with the dorky- looking helmet cos you thought he had a better thing going on. So?``  
  
``Yeah,`` said Pyro out loud, ``I accept it.``  
  
``Good boy. Sabretooth will accompany you, of course, as he has a part to play in this stage. Sabretooth!`` Magneto called.  
  
No answer. The great shaggy mutant did not come striding in.  
  
``Sabretooth!``  
  
No answer.  
  
Magneto frowned. ``Where is that oaf?`` he thought irritably.  
  
``He`s not here, sir, `` purred a soft voice. Magneto whipped round to see Mystique enter. ``He left on foot this morning. He said he had some. business. to attend to. right away.``  
  
He frowned. What kind of business could Sabretooth possibly have to attend to? True, of late the large mutant had been rather defiant and would often leave for a few hours by himself to go travelling into the wild. but normally he would never disappear for a whole day.  
  
He sighed. ``Then , Mystique,`` he said, ``you will have to accompany the boy on his mission. And straight away, please. I shall now go and see how Toad is getting on with the ship. I need it at its full working order. I have a lot of trips to make these coming weeks.`` 


End file.
